Eugene Auer Memorial School, Lake Grove NY

Original Research by School Decision on Eugene Auer Memorial School

Eugene Auer Memorial School is a small elementary school in Lake Grove, an auto-oriented suburban village in Suffolk County. The school serves grades one through five and sits within the Middle Country Central School District, which spans seven communities across about sixteen square miles of central Long Island.

The school's enrollment is modest and relatively stable, with roughly equal or slightly larger cohorts in second and fourth grades. A significant portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a mixed economic profile within the school's catchment. The student body is predominantly white, with substantial Hispanic enrollment and smaller shares of Asian and Black students. English learner and special education enrollment data were not available, so parents may want to ask the school directly about support services for these populations.

Academic performance at Eugene Auer is a central consideration. On the state tests administered in 2024–25, proficiency rates in math and English language arts sit below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Suffolk County. In third grade, roughly one-third of students met proficiency in math and English; in fourth grade, proficiency dipped to roughly one-third in math but fell sharply to about one-sixth in English; by fifth grade, math proficiency declined further to about one-quarter, while English proficiency hovered at roughly one-fifth. In science, tested only in fifth grade, proficiency was roughly two-fifths, the strongest performance of any subject the school reports. Test participation rates were moderate in grades three through five, ranging from roughly one-third to one-half of students, which parents may want to discuss with the school. Sixth-grade state testing data do not appear because the school serves only grades one through five.

The disparity between math and English proficiency, and the general trend of lower performance in upper elementary grades, suggests that a parent considering this school should engage directly with the principal and teachers about literacy and numeracy instruction, classroom support systems, and any interventions in place for students not meeting grade-level expectations. The school's most recent reported proficiency in a tested subject at the secondary level comes from social studies in fifth grade, tested over a decade ago, so current data on that subject are unavailable.

Lake Grove itself is a small village with a split personality: a bustling commercial strip centered on Smith Haven Mall and Middle Country Road, and quieter residential streets with single-family homes set back from the main arteries. It is an auto-dependent suburb rather than a walkable neighborhood, and families will drive to shopping, schools, and civic activities. Housing values in the village's zip code are moderate to upper-middle for Long Island, and the market has shown modest appreciation. Property taxes, tied to school district budgets, have risen by roughly three percent or so in recent years, a steady cost families factor into residency decisions. The district's free Universal Pre-K program, available to all four-year-olds in the district, is a noteworthy benefit that some neighboring districts do not offer.

Eugene Auer is a regular public school with no special designation. Program details, staffing levels, and specific intervention or enrichment offerings were not available in the data, so parents should reach out to the school's office for information about literacy support, math instruction models, special education services, English learner support, and any pullout or in-class intervention programs. The school's website may also provide curriculum details, teacher backgrounds, and family involvement opportunities.

A family considering Eugene Auer should view the academic performance data as an indicator that close communication with teachers and an understanding of the school's instructional approach would be wise. The modest proficiency rates do not tell a complete story—classroom culture, teacher quality, parent engagement, and support for individual learners vary within any school—but they do warrant conversation with the school about how it serves students at different levels and what resources exist for families who want to supplement classroom learning.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 42% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 45% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 32% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 39% · ▼ 38 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 46 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 40% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 42% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 35% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 35% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 45 pts below county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 34% · ▲ 8 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 595%

School 95% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolMIDDLE COUNTRY CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income27%Higher-income32%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income11%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income19%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income20%Higher-income47%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income33%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income25%3 pp gap